All Chapters of The Apocalypse Hoarder: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

[The city's sealed under snow now. We can't rely on anyone. We rely on ourselves. I, Jack Brogan, am taking charge of Building 25. From now on, my word is law. Do as you're told and I'll keep you alive. But if anyone dares to step out of line…]Two photos followed. One showed the gun in his hand. The other showed a third-floor resident lying in a pool of blood.The once-busy building chat went dead. The bloody images silenced everyone.In peacetime, they had never seen such a thing—never even imagined it. But there it was, real and crimson. In a block locked down by a blizzard, other people became hell itself. No one dared talk back to Jack. They were too afraid to die.Cyrus slouched on the sofa and muttered, "Smart move, Jack. No wonder he runs the streets."Jack ruled with both threat and temptation. He didn't rely on fear alone. He had only one gun, and no one knew how many bullets it held.Cyrus guessed it wasn't many. Gun laws here were strict. He himself had paid dearly fo

[At the very least, I need a dozen men to come with me. That's the only way to stay safe. I served in the military. I have some training, and I can lead.]The households with adult men fell silent. The women in units without any suddenly lit up, as if they had been injected with adrenaline.[Right. We women are weak. We can't handle scum like that. Men of Block 25, now's your time to prove your manhood!][All the men in our building are real men. You must succeed!][Show your gentlemanly side and protect us poor women.]The men did not take it well. Some were single and lived alone or with roommates. They weren't completely unwilling to face criminals, but the women's tone made it clear they were being ordered to risk their lives as if it were an obligation. That didn't sit right.[No way. You always shout 'women first' online, but now that it's dangerous, you want us to go first? Why should we?][If you want equality, we go together.][All that tough talk online—try it on Jack

They begged and pleaded again, promising anything if Cyrus would let them stay in his apartment.Cyrus ignored them. He neither agreed nor refused.He preferred to leave them a sliver of hope—just enough to make them believe there was a chance, however small, so they would keep crawling back to beg.The day passed without incident.After Jack and his men collected a pile of supplies, they didn't press their luck. They knew better than to go too far. If they did, the tenants might unite and fight back.Their method was simple: gather some, calm some, then break and take from the rest. That balance kept their control intact.…That night, Cyrus noticed movement on the security feed. The city had gone completely dark after sundown. Only his apartment still glowed, though the other tenants hadn't realized it yet.He watched as several of Jack's men hauled two corpses out the door. The faces looked faintly familiar.Cyrus leaned closer, studying them until he remembered. He knew ne

Tina flooded the group chat with voice messages, her voice breaking with tears. She frantically sent one after another. Just yesterday she had been loud and defiant, roasting the male owners without mercy. Now she sounded nothing like that.Kenneth: [Girl, this all happened suddenly. I can't take on that many of them alone.]Kenneth was kind, but he wasn't about to walk into certain death. Jack had five or six men and a gun. Even if Kenneth had been a soldier, he couldn't have handled those odds by himself. If everyone had agreed yesterday and formed a guard, they might have stood a chance.Tina read his message and felt her chest turn to ice and sent a sobbing voice message. "You can't do this to me! I'm just a woman. You men can't even protect me? What kind of men are you? If I die, I'll haunt you all forever!"At first, some neighbors felt pity. Then they realized she was trying to guilt them, and anger flared. Add yesterday's insults to that, and old grudges mixed with new ones

Cyrus didn't owe them anything. Why should he?After his refusal, the group made no effort to hide their displeasure.Andrew: [Cyrus, we're all in real danger. Don't be so short-sighted. Only together can we survive.]Mindy: [We picked your floor because you have a balcony. It's easier to get snow water there. You think we're freeloading, but we can protect you too.]Cyrus' grin tilted. [Protect me?????]The string of question marks made his sarcasm obvious. Did they even know how he lived now? Protect him? They had some nerve.…Under her blanket, Diana pursed her lips and began her guilt campaign. She knew Cyrus disliked her and wouldn't let her in, so she pushed the others to shame him instead. She argued that lives were at stake, that even if they had treated him badly before, he should show mercy now.Natalie: [Cyrus, fine, I admit we need you. But think about it. If you let us in, you could save seven or eight lives. Would you really watch us get killed by Jack? We're fri